Simon Gales was born in 1964, studied at Ipswich School of Art from 1983-1985 and then Goldsmiths graduating among the YBA generation in 1988. He has in the
past exhibited in British Arts Council exhibitions and projects in institutions and museums that include the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum; The Glynn Vivien Museum & Art
Gallery; Shipley Art Gallery; London Transport Museum; Centre Cultural Francois Mitterrand, Périgueux; Palazzo Pesaro Papafava, 58th Biennale, Venice.
The paintings shown are of a predominantly horizontal format in order to achieve asymmetrical compositions that have become a hallmark of the work. The artist is drawn
to an 'image' or part of an image, often found by chance, in a magazine, the internet or in life, that in itself becomes part of a concept, while providing a solid basis for
creating a work free from compromise. Only the chosen essential qualities of the image are retained, and then transformed. The paintings are intentionally separated from
the wall, so that they each become an independent essence in themselves, appearing to 'float' in the viewer's space. It becomes therefore an asymmetrical counterbalance
between the forces of empty space and an object, structure or figure at a chosen synergistic point. It is in this self-imposed working process that the artist offers
alternatives to the fact that, in an increasingly virtual world, we are often conditioned to see things in a certain way.